


Avengers' Tower (Apartments)

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apartment Building, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Found family trope is HEAVY, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Peter is Tony Stark's adopted son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-05-24 23:06:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14963948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tony's looking for a fresh start for himself and his young son, Peter, and finds one at Tower Apartments, and finds even more than he was asking for: a home, friends, and even love.a.k.a Remember when we thought the Avengers were all going to live in Stark tower and be fun housemates and be happy? Me too. So I wrote this.





	1. Good People on the Roof

**Author's Note:**

> hey y'all, welcome to the fic, I have generally no idea how to open these things but mild disclaimer before you start watching. I haven't seen infinity war and to be completely honest, I don't really want to because I am already sad by myself and I don't want to pay money to be even sadder. SO. I'm characterizing and building relationships based on all that I know and memes on tumblr.  
> Also this is pretty much just the OG Avengers + friends, I may add the Guardians or like Ant Man at some point later, who knows.  
> I hope y'all enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Peter move into their new apartment and get more than they bargained for in their new building.

Tony turned his keys to the left and felt the late summer heat creep into the car as soon as the gentle whirring of the AC cut off. He sighed and looked up at the building in front of him. Tower Apartments, as so named by the bronze plaque, was a large brick building squeezed between two similar apartment buildings. Nothing flashy, nothing fancy, just a simple, average, apartment building.  _ Just what the kid needs, _ Tony mused. 

As if on cue, Tony heard a  _ click  _ behind him as a seat belt became unfastened, and seconds later two bony elbows appeared on the center console. Peter looked up at the building in awe, his mouth hanging open wide enough for Tony to see the gap where one of his front teeth had been just a week ago. “Is this our new house, dad?” Peter asked. 

Tony swallowed. “Yeah, kiddo, this is ours.” He looked to Peter. “What do you think?”

Peter stared at the apartment a while longer, then looked at Tony with a lopsided grin too big for his little face. “I love it! Let’s go inside!” He scrambled back and picked up his backpack before opening his car door. Tony watched him bound out for just a moment before pulling the keys out of the ignition and opening his own door after checking for incoming traffic. As he circled around, he heard Peter giggling, and looked forward to see him speaking amiably with the very man who moved him into this place.

“Dad! You didn’t tell me Uncle Rhodey lives here too!”

Rhodey smiled and shifted Peter in his arms. “Well that would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it Petey?” He set Peter down on the steps and Tony came forward and clapped him on the back. Rhodey smiled. “You guys okay?”

Tony smiled back and nodded. “Thanks for telling me about the vacancy here. I think this place will be good for us.”

“I thought so too. You’ll like the others living here too, I hope. Good people.” Rhodey looked to Peter. “There’s even a girl living just across the hall from you, she’s about your age!”

Peter’s eyes lit up with the thought of a new friend living so close by. This was, apparently, the last straw for his patience, as he grabbed Tony’s hands and began tugging. “Come  _ on _ dad! Let’s go!”

Tony chuckled. “All right, Petey. Let’s go on up.”

  
  


The door swung open to reveal an open living space, already furnished with a large, white couch, entertainment system, and a soft, blue rug. Peter rushed in and went straight to the window, pressing his little hands against the glass. “Peter, take your hands off the glass. Your hands may be little but your smudges are great,” Tony chastised as he ambled in with Rhodey. Peter turned and gave a sheepish smile, then took off down the hallway leading to the bedroom, banking a hard right into the first of the two rooms. Tony smiled softly as he heard Peter’s sounds of excitement drifting down the hallway. He closed the door behind himself and Rhodey as he took it all in.

“Hope it’s set up alright. If not me and the guys can help you change it around.” Rhodey said as he sat down.

“The guys?” Tony asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yeah, hope you don’t mind. Got some of the other tenants to help with moving your stuff in. You’ll meet them tonight, if that’s alright.” Rhodey looked to Tony. “Told them you were moving in today, arranged a little dinner party on the roof.”

Tony looked out the window. He could see where Peter’s hands had been moments earlier. “I dunno, Rhodey. I’m not sure I’m ready to make new friends quite yet.”

Rhodey clicked his tongue at him. “C’mon, Tony. This is what you moved here for, right? New life, a change? This is how you do that. And Peter will have a great time. These folks love little Shuri, and they’re real excited to have another kid in the building. Just give them a chance.”

Tony stared out the window a moment longer before sighing. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s just…” he trailed off.

He heard Rhodey get up off the couch and walk towards him. “I know. But this’ll be good for you. And I know you’re still in a rough patch. That’s why I’m here. Sometimes you need someone to give you a good kick in the ass to keep you moving.”

Tony laughed. “Sometimes?”

Rhodey laughed and clapped him on the back.

  
  


A few hours later, Tony was brushing Peter’s hair back as they climbed up the stairs to the roof. Peter was chatting rapidly about Shuri, his new friend across the hall. The two had known each other for not even a day and they were already thick as thieves and causing mischief.  Tony couldn’t be happier for him.

“-and Shuri has a HUGE teddy bear, I think it’s bigger than you dad, and she has all these SUPER COOL decorations from her homeland and she says she’s a PRINCESS there and her brother is the KING he says it’s called Wakanda have you heard of Wakanda? She says nobody can see it and that it’s a secret only Wakandans know abou-”

Tony cut him off with a laugh. “Okay Petey, okay! It sounds like you two had a great time today.”

Peter nodded vigorously. “She’s my bestest friend. I hope she’s in my class at school.”

“For the sake of your teacher, let’s hope not.”

They arrived at the door to the roof, and Tony could already hear music and chatter behind the door. He turned to Peter and brushed his bangs back a little more. “You ready to make even more new friends?”

Peter smiled and took Tony’s hand. “Let’s go, dad.”

Tony smiled back before turning and pushing the door open. The scene before him could be described as nothing but warm and inviting. Basked in the golden glow of a summer evening was an open rooftop. A large gazebo shaded a massive picnic table covered in food and drinks. An upbeat pop song played in the background, barely audible over the lively conversations being held. Tony had never been more anxious in his life.

From below him, he heard Peter give a little gasp. He looked down and saw Peter’s eyes shining with excitement. He gave his little hand a squeeze and Peter looked up. “Dad… we’re on the  _ roof _ .”

Tony grinned. As nervous as he was, he was glad Peter was excited. He looked toward the crowd, trying to figure out how to navigate this sea of strangers. Thankfully, Rhodey moved forward through the crowd towards them, beaming. “Hey, Tony, Peter! Welcome to the roof!”

Rhodey’s loud declaration lead to a small lull in the chatter as the group turned to see the newcomers. Tony swallowed nervously yet managed a shaky smile, while Peter ran forward and launched himself at Rhodey. “Hi Uncle Rhodey! Do you know where Wakanda is?”

Rhodey laughed. “You’ve met Shuri then, huh? She’s around here somewhere, wanna go find her?”

“Yes!” Peter ran off into the crowd, giggling with excitement. The other tenants watched him go with big smiles and shuffled around to let him weave through easier. 

Rhodey came up to Tony and clasped him on the shoulder. “Glad you came, man. Come on, let’s meet some people.”

  
  


Tony allowed himself to relax his grip on the bottle of beer that Rhodey had pressed into his hand. Rhodey had brought him to groups at a time as to not overwhelm him, and he’d met quite an interesting cast of characters. He already knew T’Challa, Shuri’s brother, who had been talking with Dr. Stephen Strange, who lived catty-corner to Tony. Rhodey cracked some joke about their matching facial hair, which earned some laughter. 

Next up was Wanda and her boyfriend, who Rhodey only called by the nickname “Vision” (“The man’s blind as a bat. I put on his glasses and I could see Mars.”), as well as Natasha and her roommate, Clint. He was a funny guy, and he’d even taught Tony a few signs. Last Tony had checked, he’d been sitting on the floor teaching Shuri and Peter how to sign their names while Natasha helped them form their hands into the correct shapes.

Thor and Bruce were, in Tony’s opinion, the most unlikely of roommates. Dr. Banner was a fascinating and incredibly intelligent man, with a quiet manner. Thor, on the other hand, was the most aggressively extroverted man he’d ever met. Loud, boisterous, yet with a quiet intelligence of his own. His brother, on the other hand, was snarky, smart, and much quieter. Loki and Thor could not have been any more different, and Tony found himself wondering how on Earth they were related before Thor informed him that Loki was adopted with a knowing twinkle in his eye.

Tony noted, with considerable relief, that nobody had recognized him, or if they did, they didn’t indicate such. He idly wondered if Rhodey had warned everyone ahead of time. He probably did, knowing how much Tony craved a seemingly impossible “clean slate” and felt immense gratitude that his friend had taken that task upon himself.

As Tony spoke with Bruce and Thor, he heard the door behind him open. He turned to see who the new arrivals were and felt the air leave his chest briefly, as if he had fallen to the ground unexpectedly and had the wind knocked out of him. Leading the group was a man sporting a beard much like his and Dr. Strange’s, albeit with darker skin. Following was a tall man with long, dark hair and a beard, sporting a top-of-the-line prosthetic arm. Tony noted with a hint of humor that it was one of his own designs.

It was the man who followed these two who was the source of Tony’s respiratory stress. The light of sunset reflected off his golden-brown hair as he walked through the doorway, and his brilliant grin seemed to rival the lingering evening sun in its brightness. Blue eyes took in the scene before him until they landed on Tony, where they locked and filled with confusion, then understanding. 

He was perfect.

Tony hated him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending might be a touch weird because I realized this was gonna be way too long, but chapter 2 should be up shortly!


	2. Late Night Talks and Bedtime Thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party winds down and Tony finds himself fucked.

A long, drawn out yawn escaped the sleepy Peter as Tony carried him from the bath to his bedroom. After dinner, dessert, and some amiable conversation, Tony noticed two sets of tired eyes struggling to remain open. He pointed this out to T’Challa, and with promises of their return, the two took their respective little ones and chatted amiably as they carried them down to their floor. Peter and Shuri said their goodbyes, and Tony took Peter in for the night.

“Alright honey, into bed with you,” Tony said as he gently lowered Peter into his bed. He pulled up the sheets to cover him, leaving his bright, patchwork blanket at the end of the bed. Despite the AC and fan, Tony worried about Peter getting hot once the morning sun made its way into his bedroom. He brushed back Peter’s still damp hair from the shower and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m going to go back to the roof. You remember how to get there if you need me, right? I won’t be far.”

Peter gave a sleepy nod. Tony smiled. “Did you have fun tonight?” The boy responded with a slightly more energetic nod.

“Everyone here is so nice, dad. Clint taught me how to spell my name without speaking, didya see?”

Tony watched as he clumsily spelled PETER with unpracticed hands before giving him light applause. “Good job, Peter!”

Peter grinned. “Mr. Thor is fun too. Dr. Strange is nice even though his name sounds like a supervillain name.” Tony laughed at that. The kid wasn’t wrong. “And Mr. Bruce is almost smarter than you dad!”

Tony hummed. “Almost?”

“Almost. And Mr. Bucky has a future arm, like the ones you make!”

“I did make that one, Petey.”

“Oh wow! Didya tell him that?” Tony shook his head no. “Oh. Well, you should! He’s a real nice guy. So is Mr. Sam and Mr. Steve. Dad?”

“Yes?”

“Is Mr. Steve a superhero? He looks like a superhero.”

“Well I’m not sure, kiddo. Did you ask him?”

Peter rolled his eyes.  _ Where on Earth did he learn to roll his eyes? _ Tony wondered. “Dad, you can’t  _ ask _ a superhero if they’re a superhero. Do you think it’s that easy?”

Tony chuckled. “Well, I’ll see if I can figure it out tonight. For now, you get some sleep, ok? It’s way past your bedtime. I’ll be back soon, ok?”

“Ok dad. Love you.”

“Love you too, Petey.”

  
  


The roof, though still crowded with people, had shifted from the earlier bright hub of conversation to hushed murmured conversations in the muted darkness, striking a strong contrast to the continued noise of the city below. Tony made his way to the table and saw Rhodey had shifted ( _ Probably a way to make me socialize by myself _ Tony mused) so he took the next available seat between Thor, who was signing rapidly with Clint and Natasha, and the man who he now knew was Steve Rogers, an artist from Brooklyn. The black man with the goatee was his next door neighbor, Sam Wilson, and the man with the long hair and prosthetic arm was Bucky Barnes, Steve’s roommate.

Tony’s initial reaction of  _ hating _ Steve was definitely an overreaction born of a combination of anxiety and attraction that could be alleviated with a simple conversation… in theory. Tony hadn’t really gotten a chance to speak to Steve, aside from a quick hello. He’d seen him playing with Peter and Shuri and heard his bellowing laughter that rivaled Thor’s, but no conversation. He supposed this was his chance, seeing as he was sitting quietly, just observing the table.

Tony gave a soft groan as he lowered himself into the chair, alerting Steve to his presence. He looked away from Sam and Bucky’s seemingly heated conversation to look over at Tony and give a soft smile. “Hey. How’s it going?”

Tony gave a little shrug and reached to grab a beer from the bucket in the center of the table. “Better than expected. Peter passed out as soon as the lights were out in his room. Kid’s exhausted.”

“Well, that’s not a surprise. Didn’t you guys just move in?”

Tony popped the top off his bottle. “Yep. Hopefully I’ll get to sleep in until 8 tomorrow. Goody.”

Steve huffed out a laugh at that. He looked around the table, pausing before he posed his next question. “Why here?”

“Sorry?”

“Why’d you pick here? To move, I mean. Like, I know it’s expensive, it’s nice apartments in New York, but you can certainly afford much  _ better _ , right?”

Tony sighed and took a swig of his beer before setting it down on the table. “Yeah. I could. Didn’t really need to move in the first place. It’s just…” he pressed his lips together in a tight line and looked out toward the city. “I wanted to give Peter something normal. I grew up in a rich family, one of the most powerful in the world. And it messed me up. I couldn’t do the same thing to him.” He picked up his bottle but didn’t bring it to his lips. He just cradled the cold, wet glass in his hands, still staring at the nighttime skyline.

“That’s pretty brave of you.”

Tony let out an unexpected chuckle and met Steve’s eyes. “Brave?”

Steve suddenly looked sheepish. “Well, yeah, I mean, you grew up loaded. And now you’re trying to live normally? Do you even… like do you know how… nevermind.”

“What?”

Steve exhaled and Tony saw color in his cheeks. “Do you even know how to cook, like, eggs?”

Tony stared at him for a second before bursting into full on laughter. Tears sprang into his eyes and he wiped them away as he wheezed. “Do I-haha-oh my God, you sound like Rhodey when I told him about this whole plan. I do, in fact, know how to cook eggs. Not much else though.”

Steve looked relieved when he realized Tony wasn’t insulted by his question. “Sorry it’s just surprising to me. Not many people are willing to give up that lifestyle once they’ve lived it for a while, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know. It took me a while to really convince myself of the idea, but I did a lot of research. Rhodey told me there was a vacancy after I told him this whole plan, so I looked up the area, found the good schools, yadda yadda yadda. Taught myself how to cook some basics too.”

“You know how to do laundry?”

“Okay, wise guy, yes, I know how to do laundry. It’s awkward to get your maid to do your post-wet dream laundry, so I started doing it myself when I was 13.”

Steve laughed loudly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Sounds like a good plan.”

Tony stared at him for a moment before finally taking a drink. “Just hope it’s the right one.”

  
  


Tony finally trudged down the stairs a few hours later, leaving the younger tennants to their late night conversations on the roof. Rhodey, Bruce, Stephen, and T’Challa followed; the “Old Man’s Club” as Nat had deemed them with a joking smile. Bruce bid the other four men goodnight before going one more floor down to his apartment. Stephen and T’Challa went to their own apartments, but Rhodey lingered in the space between his and Tony’s apartments. 

“How ya feelin, Tones?”

Tony sighed as he fished his apartment key out of his pocket. “Beat. But… I’m good. I’m happy.”

Rhodey smiled. “Let me know if you need anything, ok?”

Tony paused and considered asking what Steve's deal was before deciding against it. He'd been here for less than a day and was already trying to jump someone's bones? That might be a problem. He shook his head. “Rhodey, you’ve already done… well, everything.”

“And? Friendship doesn’t have a limit. I know you’d do the same for me.” Rhodey unlocked his door and pushed it open. “G’night, Tones.”

Tony did the same. “Night, Rhodey.”

  
  


Tony pulled back his duvet and sheets and fell into his bed, bone tired. He’d checked on Peter as he came in and found him snoring softly and couldn’t wait to be doing the same. And yet as soon as he’d gotten comfortable, he was distracted. Everyone had been great, really. Thor and Bruce were hilarious to be around and had become fast friends of Tony’s. Nat, Clint, Wanda, and Vision had loved Peter and had already offered babysitting services should he ever need them. Peter already practically lived in T’Challa’s apartment, Strange referred him to a pediatrician in the area, and even those who he hadn’t spoken to very much had been nothing but welcoming. But Steve had been… different. He’d been honest with Tony, didn’t tiptoe around who he was, but hadn’t been angry or confrontational. Just friendly. Just a friend. Tony groaned and turned over, pressing his face into his pillow. His last thought before sleep claimed him was of Steve’s loud laugh and bright eyes.

Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I hit a HUGE writers block and I'm working so updates may be spotty. But I hope y'all enjoy!


	3. Unexpected Circumstances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony feels old, Peter's a doctor, and R.I.C.E. is utilized. Also, why is Steve so buff?

Tony hummed quietly to himself as he fixed lunch while Peter kept himself busy in his room. A late summer storm blew outside, its symphony of wind and water punctuated by the occasional peal of thunder. Tony hoped the stormy part of the season would pass once school started. He would much rather walk with Peter, Shuri, and T’Challa than brave the vicious carpool line. 

He turned to grab a knife when the apartment was filled with the bright light of a lightning strike, followed shortly after by complete darkness. Over the answering thunder, Tony heard Peter shriek from his room before bolting down the hall into the kitchen and attaching himself to his dad's leg. “Daddy! Why's it dark? What happened?” Peter sobbed, clearly distraught. 

Tony leaned down and hoisted his son up, grunting from the effort. “Power's out, kiddo. Don't worry, hopefully we'll get it back soon. It'll just be dark for a bit. Here.” He fished in his pocket and pulled out his phone to enable his flashlight before handing it to Peter. “Better?”

Peter began to nod, but before he could answer they both heard a loud metallic clang followed by someone groaning. Peter clung even tighter to Tony and spoke in a small voice. “Daddy? Was that… a ghost?”

Tony frowned a little and moved quickly towards the door. “ It sounds like someone slipped on the stairs, Petey. I'm going to make sure they're not hurt.”

He flung open the door and looked toward the stairwell to see the most inconvenient accident victim possible. 

“Mr. Steve?”

Steve, who looked up with startled blue eyes when he heard Peter, was a pitiful sight sitting at the foot of the steps, soaked and dazed. Once he recognized the man at the bottom of the stairs, Peter had begun to wriggle out of Tony's grasp. Tony, staring dumbfounded at the man, let Peter down, and he immediately ran to him. Tony followed behind and heard Peter ask, “Whahappen to you, Mr. Steve?”

Steve blinked and a sheepish look came over his face. “Hey Peter, I, uh, well I guess my shoes were wet, so I slipped on the stairs.”

Tony looked at him in disbelief. “You were on the roof? Did you, perchance, notice the weather conditions today?”

The pitiful sight turned its sheepish look towards Tony. “When's a better time to get lightning sketches, right?”

Tony finally took account of the scene before him outside of the gorgeous man sitting before him. There were several sketches and drawing utensils scattered over the floor, haphazardly strewn following Steve's unfortunate tumble. Tony also noticed how the man was cradling his ankle. “You're hurt?”

Steve looked at his ankle. “Twisted it a bit on the way down. I think I'll be okay, though.” He moved to stand, as if to prove his point, and his leg gave a slight shake before he had to sit again, wincing at the pain. 

Tony furrowed his brow, concerned. “That doesn't look okay to me. Want to come in, get some ice on it?”

“No, no, don't worry abou-”

“No Mr. Steve! You're hurt! You need RICE!” Peter chimed in. 

Steve smiled. “Some rice, huh?”

He shook his head. “No! R-I-C-E. Rest, ice, compression, evelation.”

“Elevation, Petey.”

“It's whatcha do if you hurt yourself. That's what the school nurse taught me last year, 'cause I fell outta tree and hurt my wrist.” Peter pointed at Steve's ankle. “You need to RICE!”

Tony looked to Steve. “At least come get some ibuprofen and water. You took a nasty spill. Don’t want you going down the stairs on a bum ankle and make it worse.”

Steve gave Tony a soft smile before nodding. “Alrighty then. Lead the way.”

  
  
  


After supporting Steve from the stairs to their apartment, Tony went to the bathroom to grab painkillers and bandages, with the additional motive of taking a breather after supporting the man for the short distance between the stairs and Tony’s apartment door. He was far from out of shape, but Steve overtook Tony in both height and weight by a significant amount.  _ Not necessarily a bad thing _ mused Tony as he pushed aside various bottles of medicine before finding and grabbing what he came for.

He made his way out to the living room and was greeted with an endearing sight; Steve sat on the couch, and Tony could faintly make out an amused grin on his face as he shone a flashlight towards Peter, who was fussing over Steve’s ankle, placing and replacing the ice pack on different points of Steve’s ankle. Tony chuckled and brought the roll of bandages and medicine towards the two. “Uh, paging Doctor Stark? Paging Doctor Stark? We have materials here for you?”

Peter giggled. “You’re silly, dad! What’s ‘pay-geen’ mean?”

Steve gave a hearty laugh at that. “Yeah, even I feel like I’m barely old enough to understand that one.”

“Wow, way to make me feel ancient! Oh- oh no!” Tony gripped his chest and feigned a heart attack before crumpling to the ground in a dramatic fashion.

Peter continued to giggle and climbed atop his dad, straddling his chest and imitating CPR motions. “Daddy! Get up!”

Tony sat still for a moment longer before shooting up and grabbing Peter, tickling him until he shrieked with laughter. Steve watched the whole scene, laughing and enjoying this moment between father and son. Eventually, Tony set Peter down and sat all the way up with a groan. “Alright, let’s take care of our actual patient now, shall we? Peter, want to do something very special?”

“Yeah!”

“Mr. Steve’s drawings and art supplies are still out in the hallway. Can you run and go get them? I’ll give you my flashlight.”

“Oh, no, Tony, it’s really-” Steve tried to interject, but he was interrupted by Peter enthusiastically grabbing Tony’s flashlight and bolting out the door with the promise to “be back in a flash!”

The two chuckled before Tony scooched in front of Steve’s ankle and removed the ice pack. “It looks like my son did a pretty good job of icing this, wouldn’t you say? How does it feel?”

“Cold.”

“Okay, well, pain-wise. Wiggle?”

Steve smiled and gave a little wiggle of his foot and winced. “Yep. Still hurts.”

Tony gave a small nod and reached for the bandages. “You can pop some ibuprofen. Did Peter get you water?”

“Yep. With lots of ice because that’s how you like it, apparently.”

“Yeah. The colder the better.” Tony chuckled as he unraveled the roll a bit. Slowly, he began wrapping Steve’s ankle. “Let me know if this is too tight or too loose.”

“Will do.”

Tony worked in silence for a moment. “So, not to sound like a massive creep or the nosiest neighbor in existence, but, uh… how do I put this… why are you so buff?”

Steve laughed. “What?”

“I mean, you’re an artist? Are you like a volunteer firefighter on the side or some shit?”

“Hey, language!”

Tony looked at him in disbelief. “Oh, so you’re gonna treat me like a dinosaur then get mad about language? Alright, grandpa.”

“Okay, well, no to the volunteer firefighter thing. I just started working out to help my asthma. Build my lung capacity. Make myself a little less scrawny.”

“Hard to picture you scrawny.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure Buck’s got some pictures.”

“You two have known each other for a while, I’m guessing?”

Steve smiled. “He’s like my brother. He stood up for me. I always caused trouble even though I was just a skinny little white kid from Brooklyn. I always wanted to do what I thought was right, wanted the last word. Not a lot of people like that very much.  _ Especially _ people from New York.”

“Have you always been an artist?”

“All my life. Or as long as I could hold a pencil. That was another thing I got roughed around for. Painting was for girls.”

Tony scoffed. “Somebody phone Picasso and tell him he’s due for a career change.”

They sat quiet for a moment before Steve spoke up. “That was cute, by the way. Seeing you and Peter play around.”

Tony smiled. “Yeah, the kid’s a little fireball. A whole mess.”

“He get that from you?”

Tony looked up in mock shock. “You’re really gonna nail me  _ twice _ ? In my own  _ home _ ?” The two laughed together, and Tony cleared his throat. “Don’t know who it’s from. Petey’s adopted.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, uh, didn’t know- I mean I wouldn’t have realized- really?”

“Yep.” Tony nodded, not taking his eyes off the wrapping. “About two years ago. He was five, and in one of my mom’s orphanages. I came for a visit, mainly publicity but also an ‘honoring her memory’ type thing, and this kid pulls me into his room and shows me these Lego constructions of my inventions. And they were good, too. Damn good.” Tony sat back and rubbed at his goatee. “I told my friend Pepper about him. She convinced me to go back again. I did. Left with papers to sign and forms to fill.”

Steve stared at Tony, taking in this new information. “You’ve done everything for him since, haven’t you?”

Tony exhaled. “As much as I can.”

Just then, the door popped open and Peter walked in, balancing a basket of drawing utensils and a stack of damp papers. He set down the basket and gingerly took the papers to Steve. “Sorry Mr. Steve. The rain got ‘em before I could.”

Steve made a noncommittal noise as he accepted the papers. “No worries. I think next time I’ll just sketch what I see through the window.” He began leafing through the sketches before he stopped on one. “Actually… this one looks kind of cool.” He held up the drawing, and Tony could see what had originally been several prototype lightning strikes, drawn over and over on one page, had been altered by the rainwater to resemble neurons. The charcoal bled across the page, and strikes that had been drawn separately met under unexpected circumstances, yet looked like they had been meant to join. 

Steve turned the page around once more and took a long look before holding it out to Peter. “For you. Both of you. My rescuers.”

“Oh, no, Steve, that’s so nice but we couldn’t possibly.” Tony protested.

Steve shook his head. “It’s for you two.” He looked down at the drawing. “Brought together, somehow, even though you stood apart. Even if it’s an accident, still makes for a good piece.”

Peter looked Tony with wide eyes, and when Tony gave him a nod, he took the drawing with careful hands, looking it over before smiling. “It’s us, dad,” he said in a soft voice.

He bolted off to his room. “Hey, Peter, manners!” Tony called after him. After a moment, Peter ran out of his room once more, empty handed, and threw himself into Steve’s arms.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Steve!”

Steve sat shocked for a moment before returning Peter’s hug, smiling at Tony over Peter’s head. 

 

Tony also spent that night, and several nights after, contemplating how fucked he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello.  
> I am a whole ass GARBAGE person who has had a very busy few weeks with minimal inspiration and I deeply apologize for this.  
> I would make promises of better updating but honestly? Probably not. Sorry lmao.


	4. Note-Will Delete Later

Hey y'all, so I've been mad busy with school and work and all that good jazz. I've got ideas for the next few chapters, but I'm going to put this fic on hold for a while. Might be able to squeeze in a chapter or two during my Thanksgiving/Fall break, but worst case scenario it'll get some updates in December during my winter break. Thank y'all so much for your patience! I promise our boys will be back soon!!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> it ends kind of weird because I realized this was way longer than I intended but chapter 2 should be coming up soon!


End file.
